


A Lover's Crown

by thishasnomeaning



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8860072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thishasnomeaning/pseuds/thishasnomeaning
Summary: Damen is invited to Laurent's coronation.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [everystarfall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everystarfall/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide :D

 

Bells were ringing. And then: nothing. And then: a warm bed, a concerned look on Nikandros’ face, a slightly relieved look on Laurent’s face. Warmth. Dreams. Love.

 

The first few weeks, Laurent stayed by Damen’s side. Damen was healing. Laurent did, too.

After that, the summer palace. From then on, time flew by. Laurent headed off to Vere, Nikandros moved his household to Ios, and Damen started to rule.

 

They exchanged letters. Laurent’s letters were long and full of updates on politics. Damen loved to read about the way Laurent was shaping his kingdom for the better, but what he loved even more were the questions. Laurent was curious about Akielos and about Damen and he treasured Damen’s opinion on all matters. Damen and Laurent gave each other advice and oftentimes, Damen ended up surprised of how differently they would approach one and the same problem. Laurent used emotional language sparingly but he did end every letter with advice on Damen’s well-being: _Make sure you drink enough, talk to a friend, take a break, I hope you sleep well_.

 

Damen, on the other hand, did not skimp on the purple prose. Nikandros assured him time and time again that what he wrote was either way too sexual, way too sappy or just plainly bad writing. Damen did not give a damn. Laurent would survive a bit of badly written purple prose, Damen was sure of that.

 

And then Damen received an invitation to a coronation.

 

Damn. Laurent with a crown. _King_ _Laurent_. Damen had seen Laurent with laurel leaves on his head, with vengeance in his eyes. With a kiss on his lips. In moments of ecstasy. _I cannot think when you make love to me like this_. But with a crown – that was new. He had imagined it many times: What a beautiful, majestic sight Laurent would be! Damen sighed. Picturing a lover who was so far away was a bittersweet experience. _Soon, Laurent_ , he thought, _soon_.

 

The first thing Damen did after he put the letter down was searching for Nikandros.

 

“You look as if something good has happened, Damen.”

 

“How can you tell?” Damen wasn’t serious. He knew that he was positively beaming with happiness Besides that, Laurent often mocked him for being easy to read and Nikandros knew him well.

 

“Laurent’s coronation. There’s finally a date. We need to leave soon.”

 

“We?” Nikandros raised a single brow.

 

“I want you by my side.” _Because you are the kyros of Ios and my closest advisor_ would have been true. But it would not have been the truest thing to say. “Because you are my closest friend,” Damen said.

 

Nikandros’ reply came after a moment of hesitation. “I’m not sure if I like him. He has hurt you. He had no right to.”

 

“I appreciate your concern about my well-being and I appreciate you speaking your mind. If you don’t want to join me, I will respect that.”

 

“I know that he does care about you now. He sent me a letter, asking to keep an eye on you. To make sure that you’re safe. That you were taking care of yourself. I replied to that letter. I told him that I appreciate his concern for you. I told him that the King of Akielos is not the only one who might not take enough care of himself. I asked him to take as much care of his own well-being as he does of yours.”

 

“That’s noble of you. There was no need for you to be so kind to a man you’re not sure you like.”

 

“I like you and as I am your friend, I want to offer to be a friend to him, too. Also, there’s something else: I know that what he did was not right, but maybe I do understand why. What he did to your back, I wanted to do the same thing to Kastor when I thought he had killed you – if only I had been brave and foolish enough.”

 

“You have been brave enough to fight by my side to regain my throne.”

 

Nikandros almost blushed at the compliment.

 

“And I’m foolish enough to come with you and watch that coronation. But do promise me that you will leave him if he is not good for you or for Akielos. I am loyal to you and if he is cruel to you again, I will hate him with all my heart.”

 

“Nikandros, you’re my oldest friend and Akielos is my life. I love Laurent most of everything in the world, but if I ever had to choose between him and you, I would know who was loyal to me first.”

 

Gracefully, Nikandros fell to one knee.

 

“You’re honoring me way more than I deserve, my King.”

 

Damen cupped Nikandros’ chin, tilting his head upwards so that he could look him in the eyes.

 

“Rise, my friend. Would you mind if I gave you a hug?”

 

Nikandros didn’t mind that at all.

 

-

 

Arriving in Arles felt different than expected. In a way, everything was the way it should always have been. Damen arrived with an invitation and an entourage, not with paint on his face; as a king, not as a gift. People from the villages close-by came to greet the strange king who had been a slave.

And still – this was normal. This would have felt normal if Damen’s daydream of being able to court a slightly younger Laurent the way he should be courted had come true. But the truth had been more brutal, to both Damen and Laurent, and now things that would have felt normal to Damen a year ago felt out of place.

 

The place came with memories that could not be wiped away. Erasmus not knowing why he would want to be free. A boy with sapphire earrings sitting beside a nobleman who was maybe his father or uncle (or so Damen thought). Laurent, who had just survived an assassination attempt, resisting an overdose of aphrodisiacs.

 

But, besides everything that had happened here, this was Laurent’s home. This was where Laurent was. The place had changed – for the better.

 

The man who accompanied Damen to his rooms was Jord.

 

Damen had chuckled at the suggestion. The last time he had been ‘accompanied’ to a room in the palace of Arles by Jord he had been in shackles. He had been a slave. Now, he came as a royal guest to a coronation, and as a lover. He didn’t plan on spending much time in his rooms, that was for certain, no matter how luxurious those rooms might be.

 

The frivolity of the Veretian court was less obscene now. There were still pets, richly decorated in gold and pearls and precious stones by their masters, only this time, all of them were adults. On his way through the palace, Damen came by the room where the rape fights had been held. A shiver went down Damen’s spine. This was where he had fought Govart and won.

 

Jord had noticed Damen going stiff. “We use this place for debating now. Since the crown prince is very different from that bastard who called himself regent, there are many upcoming changes in Vere to be debated on.”

 

Damen nodded. That sounded like a good idea. Still, he had no intention to look at the ring for any longer than absolutely necessary.

 

 To say that Damen was surprised by the rooms Laurent had chosen for him would have been an understatement. It was the exact same room Damen had inhabited when he was a slave – and Laurent was standing right in the middle of it.

 

“Hello, lover,” Laurent said with a smile on his lips.

 

Damen rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he really didn’t know whether he wanted to hug Laurent or to stab him. Or to fuck him. “Your harem? Seriously, Laurent, I thought we were over this.”

 

“Over what?” Laurent looked _almost_ as if he had no idea what Damen was talking about.

 

“Humiliating niceties. Exchanging whips and shackles as gifts.”

 

“Too bad. I thought knowing the place would be convenient for you.”

 

“Giving you a reunion kiss would be convenient for me.”

 

That suggestion turned out to be very convenient for the Crown Prince of Vere as well.

 

-

 

Later, Damen realized that Laurent had subtly redecorated this part of the palace. Some pieces of decadent Veretian decoration had been replaced with Akielon finery. Contrary to what Damen would have expected, the mixture was surprisingly aesthetic.

 

They had retreated to a sofa when Laurent began talking again: “I’m offering you these rooms because they were Auguste’s rooms before my uncle decided to turn them into my harem.”

 

“I had expected the queen’s chambers.”

 

“That was my uncle’s harem. I won’t fuck you in Nicaise’s bed.”

 

“I can’t sleep in Auguste’s bed, either. That’s not my place.”

 

“You did so already. You know protocol. However, I thought that even you would be smart enough to know that I wouldn’t stop you from sleeping in my bed if you so desire.”

 

“Oh, and I was expecting not to get much sleep in your bed, my dear Prince of Vere,” Damen replied with a lustful grin.

 

“You were not wrong about that.”

 

When they had arrived in Laurent’s bedroom, Laurent confessed to Damen that he needed his help. At first, Damen did not quite believe him.

 

“You don’t need my help. You just want me to do something you don’t want to do yourself.”

 

“Damen, I need your help being king. I do want to be king.”

 

“You know who to trust way better than I do. You know how to negotiate, how to get what you want, and you know how to fight. What exactly do you need me to help you with?”

 

Laurent was silent for a moment. Then: “I don’t know how to be soft.”

 

 “To be honest, I’m pretty sure you’re never going to learn that.”

 

“I didn’t expect to.”

 

“Then what do you want?”

 

“I want you to be Queen of Vere. King-Consort, if you wish. I want you to rule with me.”

 

Now this was news that made Damen unable to think. “You’re offering me half a kingdom.”

 

“And all of my heart.”

 

“What do you want in return?”

 

“You know what I want.”

 

“I’ve given you my heart a long time ago, Laurent, King-Consort of Akielos.”

 

Damen had never seen such a smile on Laurent. Well, he had never seen such a smile on anyone.

 

“You are the best man I’ve ever known, Damen. I’ll see that you will be crowned with me tomorrow. Now, attend me.”

 

And Damen did attend Laurent. Between unlacing his lover’s clothes (or, to be more accurate, his King-Consort’s clothes) Damen pressed kisses to every layer Laurent wore. Dark blue velvet, white silk, hair, skin, soul. That night, Laurent ordered Damen, the King of Akielos who still wore that one golden shackle, who would always wear that one golden shackle, to feed him grapes, to give him a massage and to fuck him. Damen acted on all of those orders, his eyes glowing with a sense of belonging.

 

While Damen made love to him, Laurent repeated the name of his lover, over and over, loudly, too loud to be decent. He added silently, inaudible to anyone but Damen, no less full of lust: “I’m sorry for the way I treated you earlier today. I was afraid that your feelings might have changed. It has been months. I couldn’t write to you the way I wanted to write. I have words for so many things, but not for this. I missed you, Damen.”

 

“I missed you, too. I thought I made that clear when I made you come. Do you want me to make you come again?”

 

Laurent turned red. “I’m serious about this.”

 

Slowly, Damen began to stroke Laurent’s dick. “I’m serious, too.”

 

“Damen, I really did pick Auguste’s rooms for you because I thought that would be, well – adequate. If anyone deserves what was Auguste’s, it’s you.”

 

“Oh, Laurent. You’re in bed with your super attractive, super charming lover. Don’t you think this is a good moment to stop being this serious for a while?”

 

“At least I’m not in bed with my super modest lover. Not that I have one.”

 

“When I said that there’s no need to be serious I didn’t mean to say that there’s a need to be snarky,” Damen said, grinning widely.

 

“And here I thought you were attracted to my snark.”

 

“I am. Please don’t ever stop for real,” Damen said and then he added: “I’m so sorry. For what happened at Marlas.”

 

“Damen, do you want to talk about my dead brother or do you want to get me off? It’s just that I strongly advise against trying to do both at the same time.”

 

“I want to get you off.”

 

“You’re so predictable.”

 

-

Later, when he was sated, glowing with Damen all over his body and within, Laurent began to speak again.

 

“You stayed with me when I set you free.”

 

“You’ve forgiven me for killing your brother.”

 

“You have forgiven me for trying to kill you. Twice.”

 

“Laurent, you were willing to sacrifice your life for mine. You have saved my life by killing the traitor who wanted to rid me of my throne. Do we need to turn this into a competition?”

 

“We do not need to, but it’s fun, so why shouldn’t we? Damen?”

 

“Hmmm…”

 

“Damen, I love you.”

 

Damen and Laurent had spent so many nights together. They had shared moments of great pleasure, intimate secrets and laughter (there was no way for Damen to put in words how much he loved to hear Laurent laugh). Laurent had _shown_ Damen that he loved him, but so far he had never told him as plainly as that: _Damen, I love you_.

 

And Damen had feared, for some odd reason, that saying those words first might be too much, too early for Laurent. That they might scare Laurent away.

 

“I love you too. So much.”

 

-

 

With a crown on his head, a lover by his side and a hall full of allies, some of them friends, the King of Vere looked _happy_. The best thing was: He did not only look happy, he felt happy, too.

 

One of the first people who approached Laurent after his coronation was Nikandros.

 

“I came to congratulate the King of Vere,” he said, “and to pledge my allegiance to the King-Consort of Akielos.”

 

“The loyalty of the Kyros of Ios honours me. I will not breach your trust.”

 

That evening during the festivities, Damen left Laurent’s side for a while to talk to Erasmus the musician and young lover of Torveld, prince of Patras, who he had last met when Erasmus had still been a slave. While he was listening to Erasmus’ s tales of the fascinating new life he was leading, Damen glanced over from time to time to where Laurent was sitting. To his surprise, Laurent was soon joined by Nikandros and, after a while, he saw that Nikandros was laughing about a joke Laurent had made.

 

In both Vere and Akielos, no great festivity was complete without a scandal of some sorts. Everyone, from tavern prostitute to councilor, from captain of the guard to stable boy, was more or less secretely longing for gossip. Yes, of course, the fact that the King-Consort was a King of a formerly rivaling country himself was gossip material – but all in all that story was cute and romantic, not outright strange in the way people enjoyed to gossip about most. Luckily, when the party was almost over, a certain renowned cloth merchant walked in and decided to reduce two kings at once to hug-pile material. When questioned about it he defended himself by declaring he had mistaken the kings for his cousin Charls and his apprentice Lamen – who just happened to look _exactly_ like the kings. Luckily, the cloth merchant was not prosecuted for this grave crime. He was even offered the newly created position of royal clothing advisor. While opinions differed widely on whether this was a sensible decision and on whether chitons with sleeves were the next big thing or hideously ugly, everyone in both Vere and Akielos seemed to agree that Lamen was a bullshit name.

 

However, sometimes bullshit names do have a certain appeal to them. Shortly after the coronation ceremony, people all over the kingdoms began to tell each other made up stories about the romantic lives of their kings, and, to honour a renowned cloth merchant’s apprentice no one had ever seen, those stories quickly became known as Lamen’s tales. Damen and Laurent knew nothing of those tales.

 

 

 


End file.
